Mr Monk Plays Dad
by Smackalicious
Summary: Monk joins Sharona and Benjy at a parentchild event at Benjy's school, which leads to the beginning of a new relationship for Monk and Sharona. FINAL CHAPTER UP AUGUST 5.
1. Challenge Accepted

Mr. Monk Plays Dad

PG-13

Summary: Monk joins Sharona and Benjy at a parent-child event at Benjy's school. Possibly some Adrian/Sharona romance in later chapters. Angst for now.

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine (unfortunately).

Please read and review! I'd love to know what ppl think of it! (And for those of you that read My Sharona, I think this one is a lot more in character than that was.)

Chapter 1: Challenge Accepted.

"Relax, Adrian. You look fine."

"No, Sharona, I'm wearing – I don't even know what I'm wearing, but it must have been bathed in various children's bodily fluids."

"And what a nice picture that is." Sharona looked over to see Monk picking at the paint-covered smock he was wearing. "Would you stop? You're going to pick a hole right through it."

"What a shame that would be," he muttered. "Why am I here, anyway?" 'Here' was Benjy's school, where they just happened to be having a parent-child event.

"I told you already," Sharona grunted, lifting a few cans of paint onto a nearby ledge where other parents and children were painting a mural. "This is one of those things where Benjy wanted a male here, and since his father is a low-life scumbag…"

"I'm like Benjy's dad," Monk finished.

"For the day," Sharona quickly added. "I'm not expecting anything terribly fatherly from you, but," she turned to him with a pleading look on her face, "if you could try to act like you're Benjy's dad, I know he'd really appreciate it. And then I'd be happy, which would mean I wouldn't be yelling at you, so we'd all be in a good mood."

Monk gave her a questioning look. "You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?"

Sharona shrugged nonchalantly. She _had_ thought a lot about it. When Benjy first broached the subject, she had thought it was ridiculous. Adrian never was any fun, and if he went, chances were, he would just embarrass them all. But Benjy looked at her with those soulful eyes of his, and she knew she couldn't say no to him. She just knew she had to try and make Adrian realize how important this was to both Benjy and her.

"I just want my son to be happy," she finally responded, hoping it didn't sound fake. It _was_ true – she loved Benjy more than anything – but more and more she found herself wondering how Adrian would react to something like this.

"Mr. Monk, come look at this!" Benjy was suddenly bounding towards the two of them, an excited look on his face.

"If it's a shower, I think I'll be more excited than he is," Monk muttered, garnering an eye rolling and a gentle slap on the arm from Sharona. She took his hand in hers and pulled him after her jerkily, Monk fighting her the entire way.

"Look, do you want me to suddenly lose your supply of wipes after the Pie Your Parent event?" Sharona asked through clenched teeth, faking a smile.

Monk had a panicked look in his eyes, which he quickly masked with a timid smile. "Which way did he go?"

They continued to where Benjy had led them, and when Monk saw where they were, he groaned. "Oh, God, Sharona, I can't do that."

"You can't throw a baseball?" she asked him teasingly. They were standing in front of the dunk tank, where parents and their kids alike were taking turns being plunged into ice-cold water.

"I don't have to…" he stammered, pointing to the tank, where an unsuspecting victim was squealing as she hit the water.

"No, you don't have to go in there," Sharona confirmed. "It's not required that you do everything." Benjy ran up to them again.

"Shane bet me 5 bucks that I couldn't get you to go in the dunk tank," he explained, sniffling and wiping his nose on his hand. Monk grimaced and held a wipe out to Benjy, who took it, looking confused. "But I don't have any money, so I had to come get some from you."

"Benjamin, what did I tell you about making bets?" Sharona chastised him. "You know I don't approve of you gambling."

"It's only 5 bucks, Mom," he sulked. "I shouldn't have made the bet, anyway. I knew I'd lose."

"Not so fast, hon," Sharona stated, slipping off her smock and handing her purse to Monk.

"Sharona," Monk hissed at her. "What are you doing?"

She faced him. "Winning my son a bet." With that, she handed Monk her earrings and shook her hair out. "You ready to dunk me, Adrian?"


	2. Winning The Bet

Chapter 2: Winning The Bet

Sharona trotted over to the tank, stripping down to a tank top. Monk's eyes bulged when she climbed up onto the seat.

Benjy was suddenly beside Monk, handing him a baseball. Monk looked at it blankly. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Benjy rolled his eyes. "You throw it at the target and try to knock my mom into the tank."

"Why would I want to do that?" Monk asked, shocked. "She'll get…wet."

"Well, yeah, that's the point," Benjy insisted. "Come on. It'll be fun." He whipped the baseball at the target and missed.

"Aw, come on, Benjy," Sharona taunted him. "Can't ya do any better than that?"

"You try it, Mr. Monk," Benjy said.

"I…don't think…" Monk stuttered.

"Adrian, what are you – a chicken?" Sharona teased, a sly grin on her face. "Betcha can't – AAHH!" She screamed as she was suddenly falling into the water.

"You did it, Mr. Monk!" Benjy exclaimed. Monk was standing in a daze, his mouth open in shock. Sharona crawled out of the tank, sputtering.

"I think I've got the hang of this now," he announced, ordering Benjy, "Go get me another ball."

"Oh, no, Adrian," Sharona protested. "One time is e-AAHH!" She was cut off by the THWACK! of the baseball hitting the target dead-on, causing her to fall in once again. She swam to the top and poked her head out at Benjy and Monk. "I…am…going…to…KILL YOU!" she screamed at Adrian.

A few parents nearby looked stricken by that comment, and Monk laughed nervously, attempting an explanation. "She gets like that. Nothing to worry about." He turned back to the tank, to find that Sharona had disappeared. "Wh-where'd she go?"

"I'm right here, Adrian," he heard from behind him. He turned around to see Sharona looking like a drowned rat – a very angry drowned rat, that is.

"Look, Sharona, Benjy made me do it," he tried to explain.

"Since when do you take orders from children?" she yelled at him.

"I was just trying to be fatherly," he responded softly, hoping to ease her nerves some.

Sharona paused in her rebuttal to look over at Benjy, who was goofing around with some friends of his. "You're right. I should probably just chill."

Monk started chuckling at her choice of words, and she rolled her eyes at him. They started to walk towards the school, and soon Sharona started to shiver.

"What'd you do with that smock? Dammit, I'm cold!" she mumbled.

"I – I threw the smock away," Monk admitted.

"You threw it away?" Sharona asked incredulously.

"It had…paint all over it," he explained. Sharona shook her head and they continued walking. She started to shiver again and she suddenly felt something around her shoulders.

"Wha…" she started, and looked at herself to see that Monk had placed his blazer over her shoulders. "Thank you, Adrian. That was very considerate of you."

He shrugged. "You looked cold."

Sharona stopped walking and looked at Monk. "You really are a very sweet man, Adrian. Have I ever told you that before?"

"Uh…no," Monk stammered. What was she saying? Was she saying she was interested in him? Or was that just him being assuming again?

He broke out of his reverie to see Sharona leaning towards him. 'Oh my God, what is she doing? Is she going to kiss me? Maybe I just have some paint on my face. Oh, God…paint…on face. Get it off! Get…it…OFF!' Monk thought wildly, waving his hands at his face and scaring Sharona off.

"Adrian, don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell is wrong with you?" Sharona asked.

"Nothing," he responded quickly. "I – I just thought there was maybe – I got some paint on my face or something. That's all."

"Alright," Sharona drawled, not sounding sure at all. "They began walking again and Sharona decided to finish her previous statement. "You know…"

A pair of silky lips pressing against her own cut her off. Adrian. What would he think? 'What would he think? He's the one kissing me!' Sharona thought to herself. 'Wait a minute. Something's wrong with this picture. Adrian is kissing me.' And for some reason unknown to her, she couldn't stop kissing him. 'Why didn't I ever do this before? This man has a gift!'

She wrapped a slippery arm around him, and the feel of water soaking through the back of his shirt seemed to awaken Monk. 'What am I doing? Kissing someone? Kissing _Sharona_, of all people? I should hate this. I really should. But I don't. Is that a bad thing?' Monk thought.

"Is what a bad thing?" Sharona asked him. Apparently, he had said the last part out loud rather than thinking it to himself.

"Uh…is the fact that Benjy's over there collecting money a bad thing?" he answered. Luckily, he had caught sight of Benjy in a circle of kids, all of whom were handing him dollar bills.

"Wha – I am going to get to the bottom of this," Sharona muttered, stomping over to the group. Monk stood watching her, thinking about how ridiculous she looked – sopping wet, with his blazer draped over her shoulders like a high school letterman's jacket on the back of the quarterback's girlfriend.

Monk smiled to himself. "You're my prom queen, Sharona. The most beautiful girl in school."


	3. The Reason

Chapter 3: The Reason

When Sharona reached Benjy, he was gathering a 20-dollar bill from a scowling girl in pigtails.

"Benjamin!" she gasped, and the circle of kids around her son suddenly dissipated. Benjy quickly stuffed the remainder of his winnings into his pants pocket and looked up at her. "What is going on here?"

"It was just 5 bucks," he replied, mimicking his earlier words.

"That looked like a lot more than 5 bucks to me," she stated.

"Well, okay, I'll tell you," Benjy said reluctantly, and quickly added, "but you have to promise you won't get mad."

"It's statements like that that worry me," Sharona mumbled, then sighed. "Alright, okay. I won't get mad."

Benjy let out a deep breath and began. "So, I went and got my 5 bucks from Shane. By that time, Mr. Monk had already dunked you twice and you were out, dripping all over the place. Shane joked about how Mr. Monk was probably going to have a heart attack if you got him wet, and I told him to shut up." He paused and sighed. "I told him I'd make a bet that one of you two would kiss the other. Some other people showed up, and nobody sided with me. They know how Mr. Monk is. I never expected to win."

"Then why'd ya make the bet?" Sharona asked softly.

Benjy shrugged and looked up at her hopefully. "I was just hoping something would happen," he admitted. "I just want you to be happy, and even though all you and Mr. Monk do when you're together is yell at each other, I know that's normal. He could really make you happy, Mom."

"You think so, huh?" Sharona asked him. "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, kid, but Mr. Monk is still in love with his wife that died. Even if I did want something to happen, it never would."

"But he kissed you, Mom!" Benjy exclaimed. "He has to have some feelings for you."

Sharona sighed. "I don't know why he kissed me, hon, but I can assure you that he doesn't have any feelings for me that aren't completely platonic. If you really want to know, you can ask him." She turned around to see Monk approaching them, and she slid his blazer off her shoulders. "I'll leave you two alone and you can ask him."

She walked towards Monk and offered his blazer back to him. He declined, of course – it was all wet now.

"Adrian, I don't know what's going on here with us, but I think Benjy's starting to get ideas," she informed him, slipping his damp blazer around her shoulders once again.

Monk reached over and straightened the jacket so it was even, then looked up into Sharona's eyes. Her eyes. They said so much. More than words. They said words Sharona would never speak to him. They said, 'Kiss me again, Adrian. Hold me in your arms. Make me your prom queen.' But he couldn't give in, not yet, not here.

"Sharona, could – could I ask you a favor?"


	4. The OTHER Reason

Chapter 4: The OTHER Reason

"Adrian, I seriously don't know what is going through that head of yours. First, you kiss me, and now you're begging me to drop Benjy off and go to your apartment with you, where we'll be completely alone," Sharona related. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this."

"Sharona, it's just me," Monk laughed nervously. "What do you have to worry about?"

"That's just it. I have no clue what is wrong with you. You're acting like a normal man, which is a very bad thing, because most men are womanizing pigs." Sharona had obviously not had the most success in the dating world, and most of the men she dated were perverts. She in no way wanted Monk to end up that way, too. He was sweet and kind, and aside from being really weird at times, was just the type of man she wanted to end up with.

"I can assure you that I will never be like that," Monk said, and she knew he was telling the truth. But just what the hell was going through his mind?

"Damn," Sharona muttered to herself, completely baffled by his recent behavior. They remained silent the remainder of the trip to his apartment, but thoughts were babbling away in both their heads.

'Why _did _I kiss her? I didn't even expect to do that. That was completely irrational behavior.'

'Have I gone totally insane? I want him to kiss me again. I want to kiss him. Well, if I have gone crazy, at least I know I've found someone who'll accept me.' Sharona quietly chuckled to herself at that last thought, something that didn't go unnoticed by Monk.

'She thinks I've gone bonkers. Lost all my marbles. And who can blame her? I acted so…impulsively. I'm not impulsive! But I couldn't wait any longer. I just had to see what it was like, what she'd do. And that kiss. It was unbelievable. But I shouldn't give in. I'm a married man.'

"No, Adrian, you're not," he said softly to himself.

"You're not what?" Sharona asked him curiously.

"Uh…" he stammered. 'Think, Adrian!' he ordered himself. 'I'm not sure, I'm not wearing a blazer…oh, God, I'm going to need that cleaned ASAP.'

"Forget it," Sharona mumbled, remembering what it was about him that drove her nuts.

They were suddenly at his apartment, and Sharona shut off the car and turned to Monk. "Alright, we're here. Can you tell me why you dragged me out here now?"

"No. Not yet," he responded, getting out of her station wagon with a handkerchiefed hand. Sharona followed his lead and stepped out of her side, slamming the door before following him to his apartment.

Sharona retrieved his mail for him and they retreated inside. As she set the pile of envelopes on the table and he arranged them by size, she asked, "_Now_ can you tell me what was so important?"

He avoided her gaze by pretending to be interested in his mail. "Uh, well, I just wanted to say, uh, wow, is that a new stamp? I have to check that out…"

"Adrian," Sharona said, annoyed. "You can't avoid me forever." He continued to shuffle through his mail, and she finally came over and lightly set her fingertips on his cheek. He looked up at her fearfully. "Why'd ya kiss me, Adrian?"

He let her fingers linger on his cheek for a second longer, then pulled away. "I-I thought _you_ were going to kiss _me_, but then you didn't, and…and I couldn't hold back," he burst out. "I was just _so_ curious what it would be like to _really_ kiss you. But I-I can't do that anymore."

"Why not?" Sharona asked softly. He looked at her curiously, and she shrugged and made that face she always made when she didn't want to admit to liking something. "I…I thought it was a nice kiss." She turned away from him, now being the one to sort through his mail. "And…and maybe I wouldn't mind if you did it again."

"Really?" Monk asked breathlessly. He had never expected Sharona to come out and say that, because he knew how much she hated admitting when he was right. But now that she had…what was he going to do?

"Yeah," she was saying, drawing him out of his thoughts. "I've never seen you so impulsive, and it was kind of a nice change."

"But, but," he stammered, "being impulsive is…bad. Things are supposed to be planned."

Sharona rolled her eyes. "Your entire job as a detective revolves around people being impulsive. I mean, sure, some people plan murders, but most people just do it in the heat of the moment. That's the entire point of living. To do things impulsively, to live for the moment. What's the fun of life otherwise?"

"Life isn't supposed to be _fun_," Monk stated. He started pacing around his living room, and Sharona followed him with her eyes. "Everything should be planned out in advance. Otherwise…things can go wrong."

"Things can go wrong even if you do have it planned in advance," Sharona insisted. "Life is unpredictable. You have to realize that."

"I do realize that," he muttered. "I realized it when I discovered that I wanted to kiss you again. And again. I realized it when I discovered I want to hold you and never let you go. I want you to be my prom queen, Sharona."

He finally turned to look at her and saw that she had a slight smile on her face.

"I want that, too, Adrian," she said softly. "I want to be your prom queen."


	5. When You're Alone

Chapter 5: When You're Alone

Sharona had decided to leave soon after that exchange, wanting to give Monk some time to adjust to their possible new status. She smirked to herself and shook her head. "You really have gone nuts, Sharona," she said to herself. "You're falling for Adrian Monk. And all because of one little kiss!" She sighed, thinking about that moment when he just leaned in and kissed her like it was no big deal. "Okay, okay. It was an amazing kiss, that's what it was. But on a school playground? In front of other people? He must really have it bad for me." She flushed a little at her own comment. "God, no one has ever felt that way about me before. I didn't think there'd be anybody for him after Trudy."

The mention of Trudy's name suddenly saddened her. "He loved her so much. She was his angel. I want to have someone love me that much, but I can't expect Adrian to do that. He's already lost so much, and if something happened to tear us apart…I don't know. I can't make up my own damn mind! How can I find out if he's really ready to move on?"

She pondered her last few words as she pulled into her driveway, and Benjy came bounding out of the house towards her. "So?" he asked anxiously.

" 'So' what?" Sharona asked back. "I was at Adrian's. I do this all the time, and why would today be any different?"

"I don't know," Benjy said, feeling that something was up. "You have this look on your face…"

"Benjy, I know you got some ideas in your head from that kiss," Sharona sighed, "but I can't have that kind of relationship with him. If something went wrong…it would break him forever."

Benjy looked down and shook his head. "It doesn't matter if you're in love." He looked back up at her. "Do you love him, Mom? Are you in love with Mr. Monk?"

ACROSS TOWN…

"She said she wanted to be my prom queen," Monk repeated to himself for about the 80th time since Sharona left. "I can't believe she said it. I never expected her to say it. I'll finally have the most beautiful girl at the party." He suddenly looked over at a picture of Trudy that was siting on top of an end table. "After you, of course. You'll always be mt first love, and I just don't think I'll ever have that with anyone else. But Sharona… She understands me, and I know she's not perfect, but her faults are just so damn cute! Trudy, I don't think I'll ever love anyone as much as I loved you, but it can't hurt to try, right?"

He looked up, as if he was looking for Trudy up there in heaven. He _was_ looking for her. He needed her blessing before he could move on with his life. Before he could make Sharona his prom queen.


	6. An Answer

Chapter 6: An Answer

Sharona paced in her living room. Damn Benjy! Asking her if she was in love with Adrian. "What was I supposed to tell him? A lie? Okay, so I'm not 'in love' with him…yet. Dammit! I am NOT supposed to be having romantic feelings for him. I can't have a relationship with Adrian! He knows every little mistake I make. He's like God in that way!"

She paced around some more, then her thoughts got the best of her and she threw her hands up in defeat. "That's it. I'm calling him, and I'm going to tell him just what's on my mind."

She picked up the phone and pressed the speed dial for his apartment. As the phone was dialing the number, she found herself breathing shallowly. 'What the hell is wrong with me? I call Adrian all the time, and this is the first time I've reacted like this.'

The sound of Adrian's voice over the line startled her.

"H-hello? Sharona, is that you?"

Sharona's momentary loss of functioning was disrupted by a feeling of annoyance and comfort that this familiar conversation brought. "Yes, Adrian, it's me. Who else would it be?"

"Uh…I don't know," Monk stalled. "I thought it was maybe Captain Stottlemeyer or…my dry cleaner. Anyways, is there a reason you called?"

He was hoping there was a reason she called – a reason related to their earlier talk. He wanted her to come back to his apartment. He was scared, but excited at the same time. It had been a long time since he had been _intimate_ with a woman.

"Yeah, Adrian," Sharona confirmed. "I need to talk to you."

"You are talking to me," he interrupted.

"No, that's not what I meant. We need to…_talk_. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"Uh…yes. I know what you are saying," he responded, a tad disheartened by her tone of voice. What was she going to say? Did she want to take back everything she just told him?

Monk mentally slapped himself for telling her how he felt, but mostly for kissing her. He went and exposed himself to her, and now she thought he _really_ was crazy. Maybe she thought she couldn't be his nurse anymore. But he couldn't handle anyone else. Sharona was the only one for him. In every sense of the word.

"Adrian? Adrian, are you okay?" Sharona's anxious voice came over the line.

Monk snapped out of his thougts and responded, "I'm fine. Sharona, I just want to apologize for the way I acted earlier. I know I probably scared you…"

"Freaked me out is more like it," Sharona cut in. "Hey, don't worry about it. That's partially what I wanted to talk about. I've decided what I really want from this, and we need to talk things over in person. I'll be over in a few minutes, okay?"

Monk gulped. "Sure. Sure, that's fine. Just…don't take too long. I'll be timing you."

"You are really, really weird sometimes," Sharona told him before hanging the phone up.

Monk heard the deafening dial tone, then hung up himself. She was coming over. She had an answer for him. The short drive to his apartment was going to seem like days to him.

He started pacing his kitchen, stopping occasionally to straighten appliances that didn't need straightening in the first place. That's how you could tell if he was _really_ anxious about something: he rearranged _his_ belongings.

After what seemed like hours of tortured waiting on Monk's behalf, a knock sounded on his door. He almost ran to answer it, then remembered his rule about running in the house, and walked quickly to the door and opened it.

"Sharona, I'm so glad you're…" he started excitedly, then saw the small person standing behind her.

"Hi, Mr. Monk," Benjy greeted him.

Monk looked at Sharona curiously. "Uh…I remembered I couldn't leave Benjy alone, and I didn't know how long I'd be here, so…"

"It's okay," Monk insisted, even though all he wanted right now was to be alone with Sharona.

Sharona's eyes said, 'I'm sorry,' as she told Benjy, "Go wait for me in the living room."

"Don't sit on anything," Monk ordered him, still staring at Sharona.

Once Benjy was out of sight, Monk opened his mouth to speak, but Sharona stopped him. "Don't say a word, Adrian. I can read it in your eyes." She began to tear up. "Are you sure?" she whispered. He nodded slightly, so she did the only thing she thought was appropriate.


	7. A Perfect Match

Chapter 7: A Perfect Match

She kissed him. She kissed him, in his sterile, cleaner than a hospital apartment. She kissed him with Benjy, who was probably spying on them, right in the next room. She kissed him and, Lord, she didn't want to stop.

The minute her lips touched his, all doubts about what she was doing faded and disappeared. It felt _so_ right, and she knew now that even if he couldn't tell her how he felt, he could sure as hell show her – if his OCD didn't kick in, that was.

Sharona's eyes popped open at that thought, and she quickly broke away from Monk, leaving him with eyes closed and mouth in a pucker. He looked vulnerable and oh so cute, Sharona thought.

He slowly opened his eyes, relaxed his mouth, and looked at her. Her lips were slightly swollen from the force of the kiss, and all he wanted to do was touch them. No, that's not right. He didn't want to touch her lips. He wanted to kiss them. He wanted to kiss her lips and her nose and her cheeks and every other part of her body.

The whole time the two were lost in their thoughts, they were staring at each other longingly. This sudden pull, the energy that was making them breathe heavily and feel what they had just come to realize…nothing like that had ever existed for the two of them. She was forgetting that she was supposed to be watching after him, and he was forgetting that he wasn't supposed to want to be kissing her.

He reached up and pushed a stray curl behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her cheek. He had never realized how soft her skin was before. He had never really touched her face before, but now all he wanted to do was touch her.

Sharona finally broke the silence. "Adrian…" she started, and while that's all she said, Monk knew right then that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He would make it up to Trudy by protecting Sharona.

"Sharona," he said, "what does this mean?"

"It means you're moving on," Sharona answered. "It means…it means I _can_ be your prom queen. You'll be the most popular boy in _my_ high school, and all I want is for you to be the prom king." Her voice was down to a whisper. "Can you do that for me, Adrian? Will you save the last dance for me?"

"I'll only dance with you," he said softly. He had never shared his feelings like this before, by using metaphors to express what he was feeling. But Sharona knew what he meant…she was the only one that could read him like that. She hadn't even needed him to say anything to know that all he wanted was to be with her. That was how close they were.

But then there was Benjy to think of. What would he think of the two of them together? Monk had never really considered the ramifications it would have on the boy.

"Benjy," he whispered hoarsely to Sharona.

The look of lust on her face disappeared as she asked, "What?"

"Does he – what does he think – have you said anything?" Monk stumbled for the words he needed.

"Benjy's had ideas in his head for a long time, Adrian," she assured him. "Since he sees you more than he sees Trevor, I think he sees you as a surrogate dad."

"So, he's not going to rebel and shave his head or get a tattoo or something?" he asked her nervously. Any hint of lust had vacated for the time being, at least until they were finished discussing Benjy.

Sharona smiled. "No. I think he'll be rather happy, actually."

"Did you kiss him, Mom?" Benjy was suddenly in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen.

"Benjamin," Sharona chastised through clenched teeth. She dragged him into the living room and asked, "Were you spying on us?"

"No," he answered slowly, obviously lying. "If I would've been watching, I wouldn't have asked."

"You know what I've told you about spying on people," she related, a little angry with him.

"I'm sorry, Mom," he apologized. "I just wanted to see if you did the right thing. I mean, you don't have to worry about Mr. Monk turning out to be some weirdo. You already know how weird he is, but you accept him. And I know he cares about you, Mom. He may not show it very much, but he takes care of you just as much as you take care of him. You're a perfect match!" Benjy beamed, very proud of himself.

Sharona couldn't help but smirk at Benjy's logic. Monk may have made her crazy at times, but her life just wouldn't be the same without him, and she could use the excitement of having a detective – even a slightly neurotic one – in her life.

"You know what, Benjy?" she asked him, and he looked up at her hopefully. "You may just be right." They shared a wide grin and returned to join Monk in the kitchen.

THE END


End file.
